Lesson#1 – by Jess

[Jess]

Here’s my first assignment, hope you like them:[attachment=1:3a52l82h]009.JPG[/attachment:3a52l82h][attachment=0:3a52l82h]010.JPG[/attachment:3a52l82h]

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Hey Jess!

Welcome to the PhotographyIcon.com forum!

You’ve made your first submission so job well done! You’re on your way to becoming a better photographer already!

My name is Duncan Rawlinson and I’ll be walking your through the course and critiquing your assignments.

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The first lesson reads as follows:

Lesson 1: Beast to Beauty

We want you to find something particularly boring in your home. It could be a doorknob, a remote control, a garbage can, a plain couch, tiles or anything else which you would rarely notice around your home. Something totally forgettable and uninteresting.

Now what we want you to do is to take 2 pictures of the object. Take one picture of it as you normally see it. Stand back and take the picture of the object with disregard for its relation to other things or any interesting elements within the object itself.

Now, I want you to get close to the object and see it with fresh eyes. How can you make this object interesting? What if you changed the lighting? What if you added something to it? What if you zoomed in? What if you blurred your camera to make it more abstract? What if you put it in close relation to something else to make it more interesting? These are all just ideas, but the possibilities are endless. Now Take a second picture and turn this ordinary object into something much more visually pleasing.

Now what we want you to do is upload these pictures to our online student workspace.

You’ve submitted two photographs.

Your first photo (although sideways) is quite a mundane tv stand. So job well done on finding something to photograph. I know it’s odd but trust me, there is a point to this… Read on!

Your second photo certainly shows a more interesting side of this mundane object. It’s much more interesting to look at so you’ve completed the first assignment.

Now, the point of all of this is as follows:

Try to do this from now on. Try to see the world through this “lens” if you will. Everything is interesting if you look at it a certain way. Try to photograph the world that way.

Start to develop your keen eye for interesting things.

I can guarantee that there are at least 10 interesting things to photograph in your immediate surroundings.

Good job on your first assignment.

I look forward to helping you improve your photography as you move through the course.

Contact me anytime if you have questions.

[Author]

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